Renewed Exploration at Bousquet Gold Project
Perth-based Olympio Metals has resumed drilling activities at its Bousquet gold project in Quebec, focusing on the Paquin prospect. This marks a significant step forward as the company aims to build upon the success of its maiden drilling program conducted last year.
The recent drilling campaign is centered around following up on high-grade results from the previous year. These results included notable intercepts such as 6.40 metres at 6.54 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 183.0m, 7.90m at 6.20g/t gold from 138.0m, and an impressive 1.50m at 54.20g/t gold from 235.5m. These findings confirmed the presence of a robust gold system along the Cadillac Break, one of the world’s most prolific gold structures.
This year’s program consists of eight diamond holes covering approximately 1,200m. The objective is to test both up-plunge and up-dip extensions of the mineralisation previously encountered, which included visible gold. Two of the planned drill holes will specifically target these extensions, while the rest will focus on the top 100m of the Paquin system. Notably, this zone has not been drilled since the 1940s.
Replacing that historic drilling with modern data is a key goal for Olympio. Much of the early exploration in the area relied on outdated survey methods and incomplete sampling, leading to gaps in geological understanding. This makes the existing data unsuitable for modern 3D modelling.
The new drilling aims to provide reliable structural and geological information that can be confidently integrated into an updated mineralisation model. The area features high-grade disseminated sulphides in biotite-altered schistose and ultramafic rocks, as well as stacked, smoky-blue-grey quartz veins. These structurally controlled quartz veins host the gold and typically have associated sulphides, making them potentially detectable by IP or EM geophysical methods.
Strategic Location and Potential
The Bousquet project is situated directly on the Cadillac Break within Quebec’s Abitibi greenstone belt, a region that has produced over 110 million ounces of gold. The project is also strategically located within 15km of several multi-million-ounce gold mines, including Agnico Eagle’s La Ronde operation and Iamgold’s Westwood mine. This underscores the area’s strong endowment and established mining infrastructure.
Olympio Metals managing director Sean Delaney highlighted the significance of the new program: “After a highly successful maiden drill program in 2025, the Company is excited to recommence drilling at Paquin for 2026. This program will provide further insight into the shallower parts of the Paquin gold system, where the majority of historical drill coverage is from the 1940s. These historical datasets are over 80 years old and are not reliable to incorporate into a 3D model, with outdated survey methods and incomplete sampling intervals.”
Expanding the Project
Beyond the Paquin prospect, Olympio has the option to acquire an 80% interest in the broader Bousquet project from Bullion Gold Resources through staged cash and share payments and exploration expenditures. To date, the company has completed nearly C$1 million in exploration spending and made C$0.30 million in payments, steadily advancing its foothold in the district.
With drilling now underway, Olympio is aiming to confirm continuity, upgrade confidence in the shallow mineralisation, and determine whether the high-grade shoots identified in 2025 extend into areas that have never been properly tested.
In a region renowned for delivering long-life, high-grade gold mines, the company is positioning itself to see whether Paquin can join that lineage as modern drilling replaces decades-old data.
